Information for Tobacco and/or Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealers

License Lottery Overview

By law, the City can only issue new Tobacco Retail Dealer and Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer licenses within a Community District when the number of current licenses has fallen below the Community District cap. Twice each year, DCWP conducts a review to determine if there are available licenses in each Community District. Every April and October, DCWP will publish a notice in The City Record confirming if licenses are available in any Community District and the process to apply for the lottery. DCWP will also post this information on this webpage.

In October 2024, DCWP determined that certain Community Districts have available licenses and accepted lottery applications from November 1, 2024 through 5:00 p.m. on November 29, 2024. For the status of your lottery application, please log into your online account.

Please check back in April 2025 to see if there will be another online lottery application period.

License Lottery Selection Process

At the close of the lottery application period, DCWP assigns each accepted lottery application a randomized computer-generated priority number.
Businesses randomly selected to apply for a Tobacco Retail Dealer license or Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer license in a Community District will receive notification from DCWP by email only.
Within 65 days of receiving email notification, an applicant must submit a complete a Tobacco Retail Dealer license application or Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer license application and satisfy all requirements under New York City laws and rules.
If any of the following situations occur, your opportunity to submit a license application will be void:
- You fail to submit a complete application online within the allotted time.
- There is currently an active Tobacco Retail Dealer or Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer license at the specific premises location.
- You do not qualify for a license for any other reason.

Tobacco and E-cigarette Control Laws

As of July 1, 2020, tobacco and e-cigarette retail stores in New York City are only allowed to sell products with specific flavors.

Stores with an e-cigarette license may sell e-cigarettes or e-liquids/liquid nicotine that are tobacco-flavored or unflavored. This includes all disposable, refillable and tank-based vaping products.
Stores with a tobacco license may sell cigarettes with tobacco or menthol flavors. They may also sell other tobacco products that are unflavored or are tobacco-, menthol-, mint- or wintergreen-flavored.

Learn more including FAQs by visiting the NYC Department of Health at nyc.gov/health.

Local Law 191 of 2017

As of April 14, 2018, it is illegal to sell non-tobacco shisha, herbal cigarettes, rolling papers, and other smoking-related paraphernalia to individuals under 21 years of age in New York City. Download Age Restriction Sign.

Tobacco Sales Training Program Affirmation Form

If your business received a violation for selling cigarettes, tobacco, electronic cigarettes, or other prohibited products to a person under 21, your business will receive:

2 points on your New York State retail dealer’s record OR
1 point on your New York State retail dealer’s record if the employee who made the illegal sale held a valid certificate of completion of a New York State Certified Tobacco Sales Training course.

Please complete and submit this Tobacco Sales Training Program Affirmation Form, which will be reviewed by DCWP.

Inspection Checklists

Read Inspection Checklist: Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealers.

Read Inspection Checklist: Tobacco Retail Dealers.